KERALA EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM-A CASE STUDY

Introduction

Kerala has a unique place in the educational map of India. Educational initiatives spearheaded by various agencies for the last one century made Kerala the most literate state in India. The educational efforts during this period sought to make education mass- based social good; in the new economic paradigm, it is being commodified. Under some form of planning, one would require data on the various aspects of the educational sector and on the relationship this sector has with the rest of the economy. However, educational sector has not trodden a well planned path. It has all along been "a drift with a current".

Education in Kerala, under liberalization, is being commercialisied and commodified down from the kindergarten to the higher stages. This has resulted in rather absurd situation. During a period when the number of children in the school-going age has been on the decline, hundreds of new private English medium schools are cropping up in every nook and corner of the State. At the same time, more than a thousand schools have been declared uneconomic. At the higher levels institutions offering new courses crop up while the old ones whither according to whims and winds of the market in and outside the country. This happened in the face of weakening production base and mounting unemployment. In this scenario the purpose of educational statistics per se seems dubious. Sources of Educational Data

The major sources of educational data in Kerala are the following.

1. The Population Census

The decennial population census gives some information on the educational status of the population, such as rates of literacy and stocks of manpower according to levels of education. They also furnish information on the distribution of population by age, sex, employment, occupation and industry. The 1961 Census furnishes information on education and classified population into workers and non-workers by educational levels and industrial categories. The information is available separately for men and women and for rural and urban areas. The educational classifications used for rural and urban areas was into: (a) Illiterate; (b) Literate without educational level; (c) Primary or junior basic; and (d) Matriculation and above.

The District Census Handbook are a source of regional data. It comprises of three parts: Part A containing general information of the District, its progress in various fields, amenities available and analysis of population by various demographic characteristics. Part B consists of census tables and Part C comprises of village and town directories with primary census abstracts (PCA) up to the level of kara/ muri/desham for rural areas and for enumeration block level for urban areas. In the 1971 census the pattern of D.C.H. was modified by presenting data by panchayat-wise. The 1981 and1991 pattern of D.C.H. was the same. But the 1991 D.C.H. for the first time in the census history provides details of panchyats by ward wise instead of kara/ muri / desom. District Census Handbooks also give information on management-wise and section wise availabilities of the educational facilities.

Certain limitations of the Census data may be noted. Census being a highly time-bound operation, one cannot ensure the correctness of the response except on a few items. Further, estimates of educationally qualified personnel on a sample basis may not be reliable for small regions because of sampling errors. Again educational data collected, compiled and published do not touch upon a variety of aspects of school education like enrolment, expenditure, teacher strength, the number of aided and unaided schools etc.

2. Ministry of Education Data

The Ministry of Education, Govt. of India is the principal source of annual statistics. The Department of Public Instruction is in charge of collection of the data on behalf of the Ministry. The Proforma used for collecting information contains the following :


2.1. ES.I. Numerical Data

This data relates to information on :


a.name of the institution


b.nature of area (rural or urban)


c.type of institution (vocational / technical/ special)


d.type of management and pupils served. (boys/girls/mixed)


e.number of students sex wise (separately for SC and ST)


f.name of the courses offered and


number of teachers- sex wise, section / subject / full time / part time and trained and untrained (separately for SC and ST )
2.2. ES.II. Financial Data

It gives data on income by sources (recurring and non- recurring) and expenditure (recurring and non -recurring) for the financial year ending on the 31st of March.

2.3. ES. III Examination Results

Information is available on the annual aid supplementary results in terms of the numbers appeared and the number passed - course wise and sex wise.

2.4. ES.IV Numerical data on SC/STs

Since the numerical data on the enrolment in schools give no information on stagnation and dropout, from 1981 onwards a register-Register of Statistical data on Wastage in School Education has been sent to every school with instructions to enter in it on a continuous basis such information. It contains the following items:-

1.total enrolment in a standard


2.number left on T.C. during the year.


3.net enrolment (a-b)


4.enrolment on last working day


5.number discontinued (c-d)


6.number failed in the class and


number promoted to the next class
In the section for Standard X, instead of items (f) and (g) above, the number of pupils presented for examination and the number passed are given.

3. Collection of Data

The educational data have to flow through a long channel from the institution to the D.P.I. and thence to the Ministry of Education. The primary and the middle schools send their returns to the Assistant Educational Officers, from where they are forwarded to the District Educational Officers. The D.E.Os are also responsible for collection of returns for high schools, teacher training schools, vocational and technical schools and special education schools.

Apart from the inordinate delay incurred in sending the consolidated figures, the overall picture of the data collection in Kerala is satisfactory when juxtaposed with the performance of several other states in the country. Notwithstanding, there are problems of comparability of data both at the national level because of different patterns of education prevailing in the different state as well as within the state because of frequent changes in the items in the proforma.

4. All India Educational Surveys

Quinquennial surveys of the NCERT is an additional source of data. So far six All India Educational Survey reports are published with the latest one in 1993.It provides information on the geographical access to school education in different states. The availability of physical facilities like nature of school buildings, basic amenities in schools, incentive schemes, availability of educational inputs, teachers qualifications, status etc. are reported. Income and expenditure of different schools by management wise are also available.

4. Data Gaps

On the whole the database of education in Kerala is satisfactory in a relative sense. However, for many years, the pattern and content of data have trodden a stereotyped path. Data does not throw light into the changes that have been taking place; the new initiatives, challenges, problems and prospects of the system thrown up by paradigm shift in the economy. The following are some of the major limitations.

In Kerala, the educational statistics collected and published by the Directorate of Public Instruction is the most reliable source of data. But this information is not complete. In the first place, the general information on the number of schools has taken into account only schools in the organized sector. On the large number of unaided schools, no information is available regarding their number, status, scheme of syllabus, enrolment of students, fee structure, number of teachers, their qualification and tenure.

The enrolment figures presented are inaccurate particularly at the level of primary education. Enrolment figures at this level are likely to be inflated for two reasons: first, since elementary education is free and the system of 'whole pass' prevails there is no urge to strike off the names of habitually absent pupils from the register and second, since the security of employment of teachers at the school level depends on enrollment reaching a given number, to satisfy the fixed teacher student ratio, there is likelihood of over reporting of enrollment for fear of retrenchment, transfers or getting included in the category of protected teachers posted to schools in far away places.

Information on management of schools also is not complete. Private managements in the aided sector have different status like individual ownership, Trusts and Corporates. No data is furnished to find out the status of the aided and unaided schools in Kerala. Again the community wise distribution of managements is not attempted to identify the major communities in the educational sector. Absence of this data leads to unequal distribution of schools among different communities. The corporate school system and the total number of schools, strength of students and staff under this category is completely left out in the educational statistics of the State.

No information is available on the professional qualification of a teacher. Data on academic qualifications and training of teachers, total number of sanctioned posts in each year, the number of new recruitments in each year, the number of teachers retiring in each year, the number of teachers leaving the profession due to any reasons, the number of teachers staying outside the village where the school is located, the housing facilities available to teachers, the total beneficiaries, the average experience of teachers, the number of teachers teaching the subject of their specialization etc, are not available.

Educational statistics again do not furnish information on the physical facilities of a school. These include total land area, area of the school building, ownership of school premises, the adequacy of amenities in schools, expansion potential of a school etc. The income and expenditure statement of schools either in the aided or unaided category provide no accurate data. Information on fee structure is totally absent in all educational data. The fee and non-fee component in fee structure, private expenditure on education, the recurring and non-recurring expenditures of schools etc are some of the missing data in this category.

A serious limitation of the educational statistics is the absence of a co-ordinating agency to collect data from different types and stages of education, the paucity of arrangements to publish the data and to avoid delays in publishing.

In the highly volatile and unpredictable market the official data system may have several constraints. This suggests the need for an autonomous body to collect and collate data, and to present it in a meaningful fashion.



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